“If you’re the luckiest one percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.”
If Warren Buffet, the billionaire philanthropist, made this statement for compassion, CK Parajuli’s work confirms this. An influential entrepreneur from Atlanta, Georgia, is well-known as the quietest social hero who believes “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Born and raised in a middle-class peasant family with six brothers in Chapakot, Kaski of Nepal, Mr. Parajuli completed SLC from Tribhuvan Secondary School in 1986. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Prithivi Narayan Campus, Pokhara.
A multitasking youth initiated various careers but found huge success in movie distribution when he distributed Nepali superhit movies such as Kanyadan, Trishna, etc. His passion for enjoying western life made him leave the business and go to West Germany for foreign employment. But he could not stay there more than one year, owing to the political turmoil in East Germany and the fall of the Berlin wall.
He returned to Kathmandu and started an InfoTech Computer business in Bagbazar in 1993, where he achieved huge financial success. Parajuli also generated another business, Himalayan Rafting Company.
He left the country in 1997 in search of broader opportunities, and of course, the United States was the only choice where he could meet his dream. Going through bitter experiences and facing many hardships, he ultimately ended up settling there.
Within the initial three years, he got kind of series success in a foreign land working at a restaurant. After working for eight years, he quit the job to be his boss. He started his own business named Yeti Express, Euro Grill, in 2005, which he sold in 18 months. Then he started an ice cream shop inside CNN, world leading television station building, in 2008.
A quicker, more innovative, and well-experienced, Parajuli materialized as an animated entrepreneur, which took him to meet an exciting offer from renowned franchise restaurant Dairy Queen to start a joint venture. Fascinatingly, on a summer day in 2008, he became the owner of Dairy Queen in Atlanta.
He founded the Nepalese Association of Georgia, which he held up from 2002 to 2009. Parajuli is a pioneering social hero for his distinguished humanitarian work that saved hundreds of lives from vulnerable situations like illness, illiteracy, poverty, and natural disasters. He has been funding several scholarships through the peace for people program in Dhading, Palpa, and other parts of Nepal to secure higher education for poor and needy students. His ideas of raising funds and donations for the Nepal earthquake victims of 2015 and flood victims of 2017 are some remarkable instances.
Considering his magnificent social deeds, the Nepalese Association of South East America, the Association of Nepali in America, and the Nepalese Association of Georgia have nominated him as an advisory body member. Parajuli was also nominated as the Vice President of Trade and Tourism for the promotion committee of NRNA NCC USA. Due to his exceptional social dedication, Parajuli has been felicitated with several prestigious awards and honors, such as the Social Hero of The Year in 2014, awarded by NASeA. A happy family including his wife and two sons, has been living in Atlanta.
CK Parajuli, Multitasking Businessman and Social hero from Atlanta.
